After The Rain
by Bulldust
Summary: The yearling was beginning to come to terms that he was too old to be sleeping in a den. However, finding a new sleeping spot was no easy feat.


"Um, Wawelski, love, I think you've grown a bit."

The red male ignored his mother's comments, with absolutely no intention of moving. To call it a tight space was an understatement. In the last few months of the pup's first winter, they grew into fine young wolves. Only, Wawelski was now more than double the size of his mother and sister. It made sleeping in the den quite… Difficult..

The two she wolves were resting side by side, with the bigger male laying haphazardly on top of them. Their den, already shallow to begin with, was in serious risk of collapsing under their weight, with the little family plummeting to their deaths.

The ceiling of their niche crumbled with the red male's shifting, and Lambei finally had enough, "Alright you two," She gave a strained smile, "I want you two to find a new place to sleep, or I'll throw you down the mountain myself."

The siblings plodded through the wet snow on the hillside, one face scowling and the other nervous, "Do you think she'd actually push us off the cliff? I don't want to break another leg!"

Wawelski gave a soft growl to his sisters anxious barking, "I seriously doubt she would do that."

"But Mother said we were too big to sleep with her anymore, where would we even go Waw?"

The larger wolf looked at her over his shoulder, "You are the perfect size to sleep in the den with her, not me."

Dracorex creased her brow with worry, "But then where will you sleep brother? There's no den around the mountain big enough for y-"

"I don't need a den!" He snapped, then lowered his voice, "I'm too old to be sleeping with Lambei anymore, it's time I slept outside with the rest of the pack." His expression grew sour with the mention of their packmates. It was a harsh winter for the omegas, but Pack Donaghy was harsher.

"That's what I'm worried about Waw," Dracorex said, sitting down. "You don't exactly blend in with that coat, and with that stunt you pulled on the Alpha, every wolf has a reason to hurt you."

She gave the scar on his face a nudge for emphasis, and he gave a sarcastic growl. "Then what do you expect me to do then, build myself a den out of scraps of debris in the woods?"

He should have kept his mouth shut.

In fact, if he had learned not to talk back as a pup, then he would never have had to deal with the events of that day. Dracorex led him around the forest away from unwanted attention to find a suitable resting spot for the larger male. The woodlands were relatively empty, save for a few objects that caught the lighter wolf's eye. Their first attempted sleeping area was a log. It was rather old, with the insides hollowed out and lined with moss, and it smelled terribly of rot and mildew. Wawelski had absolutely no interest in being anywhere near it, let alone sleep in it. After a lot of convincing from the smaller wolf, the male finally gave in and climbed inside. Only he couldn't get out. Lucky enough for the large wolf, the slick mold lining the bark acted as a lubricant, and he managed to pull himself out unscathed, although much more dirtier and smellier than before.

Their next attempt was a pile of fallen leaves collected on the forest floor from last winter. Most of the piles they found held that dank, rotting odor from the log, but they did manage to find a relatively dry patch. Wawelski thought it was alright, until he felt snakes curling around his legs. The pair decided to let the hibernating snakes lie, and the larger wolf tried his very best to erase the memory of cold scales slithering on his body.

Their next stop lead them to a rather dangerous looking bush. Leaves have not yet bloomed onto the branches, and the stems were covered in rows of thorny spikes. Wawelski took one look at it, then started walking in the other direction. Dracorex tried to pull him back by the tail, "C'mon Waw! It's not so bad, you can fit under it easily."

The red male gave a huff, then lifted his nose to the air, sniffing. He didn't like the look of those clouds rolling overhead. "I think it's time we went home," he gave a low grumble.

"Are you scared of a little rain brother?" She joked, giving him a friendly shove and walking beside him. "I think we can look around for more spots, I bet we'll find some nice, dryer areas if we go uphill."

The larger wolf gave a sigh, "I think I'm better off just sleeping outside." He gave his coat a shake for good measure. He could have sworn he felt a snake still in his fur.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Dracorex gave a cheery smile, and Wawelski scoffed.

"I'm done wasting time today, I'm going," he gave a growl and turned and headed down slope. It took him a few moments to realize that his sister's hobbled foot steps weren't following him. He gave a deep, growling sigh from the bottom of his belly, then turned to climb uphill once more. He'd have to drag her back to home apparently.

Rain began to fall on a steady rhythm along the cliffs as he wandered after his sister. Tracking her was proving rather difficult as the light rain turned into a downpour. The only good thing about it was that it washed away the pungent odor from his pelt. He stomped through the slick earth, then stopped in his tracks when he saw her, and scowled. "Get off of there."

Dracorex was balancing on a downed tree, dangling right over the the flooded stream valley. The churning waters were dark and running fast, with foaming waves licking at the sides of the cliffs as it plowed downward. The knocked down tree connected the two cliffs, but the rain made the bark especially slick and dangerous. It was a wonder how the crippled yearling could even walk on it.

Dracorex gave a small bark to the larger male, "I wanted to see what the other side looked like, it's too slippery to cross."

"Oh really," Wawelski scoffed, climbing onto the cliffs to approach the tree. He nearly slipped on the slick rock face as he shuffled towards her, "Get over here so I can pull you off."

The smaller wolf crept gingerly towards the darker male, and let him haul her off by the scruff. Wawelski gave a huff of relief disguised as annoyance. He turned on his heel to leave and felt his foot give out on him. He misjudged how wet the smooth cliff was, causing him to kick his hind leg out and fall flat on his face. He heard a panicked yelp and claws scratching and he turned in time to see Dracorex's head drop beyond the edge.

Wawelski was on his feet in seconds as he looked down at the swollen river. He felt a wave of panic when he couldn't see a patch of orange show up at the surface, and he barreled downstream. He pelted through the wilderness, ignoring the branches that whipped in his face. He was scrambling to find a shallow point in the water, where he could safely pull her out. There was no way that she would swim in that freezing torrent, and with a lame leg to weigh her down, her chances of survival were slim to none.

After what felt like centuries, he finally found a shellow edge of the stream. He jumped in and waded towards the center. The water crashed into him just above the belly, and the strength of the current nearly toppled the male over. He gripped at the river's bottom the best he could and scanned the dark waves for any sign of ginger fur. What ever bumped into him under the surface, he snapped and hauled up. He picked up branches and debris, but still no sign of his sister.

Something finally crashed into him that felt like a body and he immediately scooped it up. He hauled the little wolf onto the banks and dropped her. He was confused and disappointed that it wasn't Dracorex he pulled out. Instead it was a much smaller beige wolf, around his age. Hope began to ebb away from the ginger male. His sister's body must have gone down stream, he was too slow.

The beige wolf began to cough up water and shake, and under her pained sounds and the pounding rain, he heard the faint sound of splashing. Wawelski swung his head around to see a ginger crown bobbing in the river, and he jumped in after it.

After several moments of swimming and struggling, Wawelski managed to pull his sister onto firm ground. Dracorex gave several strained coughs before wheezing out, "Jeez Waw, watch where you put your big feet next time." The panic in his stomach molded into guilt, and he silently nudged at her temple with his nose in apology. She gave his nose a light lick, then looked at the quiet beige wolf sitting a few feet away, "Who are you?"

The shivering wolf squared her shoulders as she spoke through clenched teeth, "Jazzy-y. Now can we please get out of the rain-n?"

"My name is Jazzy, and I think I know you two," she pointed her nose at the red male, "You're Wawelski right? And this must be your sister Dracorex."

Wawelski scowled while his sister beamed, "Yeah! Wow, how'd you know who we were? I don't think I've ever met you before."

Jazzy gave a friendly smile, "I've heard a lot about you guys. Practically everyone in the pack knows who you are." The dark red wolf grimaced. So everyone did know him. The yearlings were all crouching close under a canopy of firs, doing their best to avoid the rain.

"How'd you get swept away, if I may ask?" Dracorex tilted her head to the side curiously.

Jazzy shifted a bit and looked to the side, slightly embarrassed, "Well, I was surveying the territory from a high vantage point, and a big wave, sort of, washed me away."

The lighter ginger wolf laughed and gave her brother a nudge, "Looks like you're not the only clumsy one huh Waw?"

The male wasn't paying attention. He was looking out into the rain when he heard shifting. He turned to see Jazzy rising and approaching him, giving his shoulder a friendly brush with her own. "I want to thank you for saving my life, and I want you to meet my parents, they'd be so thankful to hear what you've done."

Wawelski was skeptical, and a little unnerved by her proximity. He had never seen this wolf in his life, but he was already going to meet her family. He opened his mouth to say no.

"We'd love to!"

Sometimes, he cursed his sister's natural friendliness.

The small beige wolf bounded towards the pack camp, "Great! My father is gonna have a lot to say when we get there." The red male was about to object, until his sister trotted past him to follow. He gave another deep, rumbling sigh and trudged after them at a slower pace.

The rain had begun to subside as they carried on towards the main denning area, weakening to a light drizzle. The clouds began to thin and small windows to the sky appeared in an orange glow as the sun made its descent beyond the mountains. As they walked through the camp and past the other pack wolves, Wawelski felt a sense of foreboding. The wolves were growling to each other softly, but did nothing to keep the omegas out. The red male gave a sharp look to Jazzy, who was leading the way with a tail high with confidence. She wasn't looking around at the pack members for her parents, as if she knew exactly where they were. His trepidation only grew as they followed a familiar path towards the higher ranking dens. The large wolf grew very tense when she walked right up to a familiar rock face and called out.

"Hey! Is Father up there? I have to speak with him." A moment later, a familiar brown head appeared, and the two males locked gazes. Smoldering orange eyes met burning amber ones. The tension in the area was stifling.

"Why have you brought these omegas here, _daughter_." Harvey's voice was firm and full of malice, directed towards the omegas in question. Wawelski looked to the beige she wolf, everything falling into place. Harvey, the tyrannical leader, was her father. The omega tensed, a sudden wave of aggression rolling over him. He felt Dracorex shift to stand behind him.

"Wawelski saved me from the river, I could have drowned," Jazzy spoke with a calm finality towards the Alpha, with a hint of a bite in her tone.

Harvey scoffed as he glared down at his daughter, "To think that an heiress to Donaghy would let a simple stream carry her off is pathetic." He turned his gaze towards the red male, eyes narrowed, "And what do you expect to gain from fishing her out, admiration? Please."

The Alpha was intent on carrying on his verbal assault until another wolf approached him from the cliff's edge. She was a calmer, gray she wolf who Wawelski presumed to be the Alpha Female. She murmured softly to Harvey, who growled something unintelligible, then walked off with a snort. As the she wolf followed him out, another wolf came forward to speak, "We are going to hold a meeting with the Council to decide how to approach your feats, young Omega. We advise you to wait patiently."

The rest of the pack that stood by to watch went back to their musings, while the trio sat down on the wet earth. Wawelski gave a huff under his breath.

He just wanted the day to end.

Night had long since fallen with still no answer from the higher ups, and Wawelski was beginning to lose his patience. The weather clearing up and his sister safely at home helped lessen the tension rolling in his gut, but he still had a foul mood. He flicked his eyes towards the cliff where Harvey disappeared with narrowed eyes. His suspicions from earlier were confirmed, the gray she wolf was in fact Jazzy's mother, the Alpha Female Iyla. She was a soft spoken wolf, one would think she was a low level subordinate with her timid attitude. However, the rumors of her daughter surviving a serious accident drew her out from hiding long enough to calm down her mate and rally the Council. Normally a wolf would have been praised on the spot, but the red male had history, with a tarnished track record. He wouldn't be surprised if he was punished for grabbing the pack heiress.

Said she wolf was resting beside him on the sodden ground, her forepaws crossed and posture high. He gave her a sidelong glance. She had no reason to be here. If anything she should have went to her family to recover from her trip in the river. Her excuse for staying was to make sure he didn't sneak off, but he didn't buy it for a second.

He was interrupted from his musings to see a figure climbing onto the rock shelf. In the gloom he could make out the orange eyes of Harvey as he glared down at them. He had no reason to stand up there to talk to the yearlings; the rest of the pack were well asleep and wouldn't hear. He stood up there before the omega to gather any last shreds of dignity he had left, before he delivered the news. "The council has made a decision." His voice was curt, his jaw clenched as his gaze bore holes into the red male, "They have decided in a majority vote, to give you a promotion. From this day forth unless deemed otherwise, you will be ranked as Subordinate, until a permanent rank will be suited for you." He spat at them, "Now_ get out!_"

As the Alpha made his exit, Jazzy hopped to her feet with excitement. In contrast, Wawelski was stock still, the wheels in his head still turning over this new situation. The she wolf gave him a friendly bump on the shoulder, "Aren't you excited? You won't be picked on as an Omega. Oh! Since you're a subordinate and you don't have pups, you don't need to stay at the lower ranking dens anymore." Her voice softened when she heard the quiet mutterings of her resting packmates. "Come on, I know a great spot where you can sleep." She nudged his shoulder again and trotted off out of the camp. The red male was too tired and dazed to give it a second thought, and plodded after her.

The pair travelled through the winding trails in the dark, and Wawelski already lost track of where they were going. They climbed up a small ravine and walked through a gathering of shrubs, before Jazzy stopped, "Alright, we're here. Make sure to watch your step." The Subordinate carefully stepped up beside the smaller wolf, and gazed around the area. The she wolf had led him to a secluded nook carved into the wall of a cliff face, with the perfect vantage point of the lower ranking wolf dens, where his mother and sister rested. "I felt like you wanted to keep an eye on your family while still upholding your rank, so I thought this spot could help," He heard the small wolf shuffle behind him. "It's pretty closed off from nosy packmates, and it's got a lot of room and shade from the weather. I was planning on keeping this place for myself when I got older, but I have to stay with the higher ups."

The larger wolf was no longer listening to her. Instead he nosed around for a dry spot before settling down for the night. The she wolf got the message, and wished him well before taking her leave. He fell asleep as soon as he rested his head on the ground.

Author's Note: Wawelski is growing up, and he's made a new friend. This takes place after "Blood of the Damned." When I said this was a turning point in his life, This is what I meant. But in all honestly there are so many turning points in this wolf's life, he's like a flip flop.

Jazzy and Harvey belong to Pidge on WolfQuest Amino, rest belong to me.

If you want to have a better expierence reading and get to know more about the lore of my characters, visit my amino profile here: /c/wolfquest/page/user/bulldust-is-busy/JJBm_EXI0fV7pM6J5dJ8mmDxL8BerXB6dWHm


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